Life Choices
by slightlysmall
Summary: Sirius has just died, You-Know-Who is rising, but Molly Weasley doesn't think that those have much to do with why Tonks has been spending a lot of time at the Burrow lately.


There were a lot of things Molly Weasley no longer liked to talk about. Most importantly, however, she refused to talk to anyone about the Ministry of Magic. Arthur had to keep quiet about his raids, and she couldn't stand even looking at Mad-Eye when they met for Order meetings. Too much had gone wrong there recently. She had nearly lost her husband, and only a month ago now, Sirius Black fell through a veil deep in the Department of Mysteries, if they can believe the stories, and it didn't help anything to know that he died laughing. Arthur seemed scared of snakes, now, and shuddered anytime a garter snake passed him in the garden. It was no surprise, after what happened to him, but his newfound fear was just one more sign that this was war.

Perhaps the only pleasant change over the summer was the frequent appearance of Nymphadora Tonks at a bar stool in Molly's kitchen. Her hair had been mousy brown since shortly after Sirius died, and at first Molly wondered if that was the reason. When asked, however, Tonks was adamant that her hair color was not at all a reflection of her mood, and it was just a change from pink or blue or lilac, something normal.

Molly knew better.

As the sun slowly began to fade behind the garden, Tonks was once again sitting in the kitchen while Molly cooked, chatting about nothing in particular. "It's been nice out recently, don't you think? The summer sun really does wonders to the landscape."

"Yes, it has been nice. I've been enjoying spending time out in the sun as much as anyone. In small doses at least, when I'm gardening or hanging the laundry out to dry. One can't be too careful these days."

"Absolutely. But it gets a bit annoying at work now. Half the cases I get anymore are just nervous citizens certain that there's a Death Eater stalking them or something. I spend most of my time eating meals in other people's kitchens, assuring them that everything will be just fine, especially if they follow the general safety tips the Ministry has been posting."

Molly looked at her pointedly, a smile breaking through what was otherwise a stern expression. "Spending a lot of time eating food in other people's kitchens, hmm? I can believe that much."

Tonks blushed and dropped the piece of watermelon she'd just picked up. "Well you probably know better than anyone how useless I am at household spells. Why don't they offer a domestic preparation course at Hogwarts? I've yet to use the oven in my flat, and I've lived there for three years now."

"I wondered the same thing back when I got married."

"You did? But you're the best witch I know when it comes to cooking! Best of the wizards too, but that is more or less a given."

"I wasn't always, though. Arthur had to swallow a lot of terrible tasting meals when we first got married. But we were young then, about the age that Fred and George are now, actually. Strange how wars can make you fall deeper in love and want to marry sooner, don't you think?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tonks mumbled, chewing on the piece of watermelon she'd decided to eat after all.

"Tonks. I've known both of you for quite some time, and I see the way you look at him."

"Honestly, Molly! I don't know what you're talking about! I don't look at Remus any differently than I do anyone else!"

"I didn't say his name, Nymphadora."

"Don't call me that. But okay. Fine. Maybe I do look at him a little longer than necessary. There's just something about him, something that's so sweet and kind, and he doesn't even see it. But it's not like he could ever see me that way. I'm practically still a kid to him!"

Molly put down the supplies for making dinner and sat beside the young woman at the table. "You're an adult, Tonks. I'm sure he knows that. There are many things that become insignificant when you love someone."

"You and Arthur had it easy. You are the same age, you grew up together, and weren't you a couple during school?"

"Yes, that's all true. But that doesn't mean everything was easy. I know I lived awhile ago, but even back in 1968 it wasn't particularly acceptable to get married so young. Arthur proposed to me when we were still seventh years. And my parents... they found out about our wedding after we returned from our honeymoon."

Tonks looked up, her eyes wide open. "What? You eloped?"

"My parents made it clear that I was not to get married at eighteen. But You-Know-Who was already gaining power. We wanted to fight; my older brothers were already fighting and we knew we might not be safe forever. War makes you do crazy things. Love makes you do crazy things. Being in love during a war- well, that's much worse." Molly smiled, patted Tonks's shoulder, and returned to her cooking.

They didn't talk again, but she paid close attention to the way Tonks kept rearranging the watermelon slices on her plate. Molly hoped something she said had sunk in. After all, it wasn't just Tonks who had sat distraught at her kitchen table in the last few weeks. Remus Lupin was anxious, too, about loving such a young woman, especially so soon after her cousin's death. Yes, Molly's kitchen had always been a place of confession.

Unsurprisingly, Tonks stayed for dinner, idly chatting with the twins. When they finished, she got up to help Molly with the dishes. "Thanks, Molly," she said. "For everything."

"It's no problem dear, I'm just doing what I do best. I'll always be here for a meal and an ear to listen when you need it. Keep that in mind, okay? And remember that any love worth having is worth admitting."

"I'll do that. Thanks again."

**A/N:** Written for the 'Taragh Word Limit Competition' with the prompt "Doing what we do" and the word limit of 1,000 (this is 1,003). Also written for Lady's Prompts Only One-Hour Challenge, with the (used) prompts of lilac, watermelon, and the title.


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